Italy
Italy '(Italian: ''Italia), officially the '''Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia), is a county in Southern Europe and is situated on the Italian Peninsula. Currently headed by Umberto II, king of Italy and a member of the House of Savoy. Italy is bordered to the north by Switzerland and Austria; to the northwest by the French Republic; to the west, southwest, and southeast by the Mediterranean Sea; and to the east by the Adriatic Sea and Serbia. Through colonial possessions, Italy, also borders France's African colonies, Abyssinia, the United Kingdom, the Hellenic Republic, and the Ottoman Empire. The Kingdom of Italy is a Constitutional Monarchy based on the Statuto Albertino of 1848, ruled by the House of Savoy. The King, even if the constitution has partial control over the Legislative, Judiciary and Executive bodies, works just as a Figurehead. The State of Italy was proclaimed on March 17th 1861 in the aftermath of the Second Italian War of Independence. As a Victor of the Great War and member of the Entente Cordiale, Italy, recovered all of its National Territories during the First World War, with the Annexation of the Austrians domains of Southern Tyrol, Litoral Adriatic, Trieste, Dalmatia and the City of Fiume. Italy also gained colonial possessions in the Guinea Gulf and in the Anatolian region. Italy is an active and funding member of the Continental Alliance, the Military alliance between the Western European Powers, formed in the aftermath of the split of the Entente Cordiale. History Unification After almost Three Decades of National Fight and the loss of the Nice and Savoy Counties, in 1861, after the Lombard Plebiscite. the annexation of the United Provinces of Central Italy, Marche, Umbria and the fall of the Bourbonic Kingdom in the South due to the Garibaldin Expeditions, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed one by King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy, previous King of Sardinia-Piedmont. In 1866 a Popular Vote brought the region of Veneto under Italian control and a few years later, under the will of the Prime Minister, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, Italian troops entered the Eternal City, a year later the capital was moved from Firenze (Florence) to Rome. King Vittorio Emanuele will eventually die in 1878 Italy on the World Stage With the Ascension to the Throne of King Umberto I, Italian Politics moved to look for potential colonies and alliances. In 1882 the Port of Assab in Eritrea was bought and by 1890 all of modern-day Eritrea and Somalia were conquered through Alliances with local leaders and quick wars. Italian attempts to colonize the Horn stopped after the Defeat of Adua. In the meantime, the politics begun to move closer to Berlin. Italy's old Ally, France, started to be considered as an enemy after the conquest of Tunisia, even though many in the Government were still openly Francophiles. The anger created by this annexation and by the French support for the pope lead ultimately lead to the signing of the Triple Alliance between Italy, Germany and Austria. The Great War In 1914 as Europe was finding itself embroiled in the first the first major war of the 20th century Italy remained neutral, at least initially. The Pact of London promised Italy land in the Balkans in exchange for military support against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. With this agreement Italy had joined the Entente Cordiale dragging her people in to a war that many were sure would be over by Christmas. Despite seemingly being on the edge of collapse after several recent defeats Austria-Hungary put up a formidable defense against the Italians. The Italian front collapsed into the same stalemate as seen in France. It took the Entente until 1919 to defeat the Central Powers but even as a victor Italy was not unscratched. Post-war Era Italy emerged from the Great War on the side as the victorious Entente Powers but at a great cost. By 1919 Italy had been pushed to the breaking point. The War had cost millions of lives and crippled the economy. The Liberal status quo that brought Italy into the war was collapsing and new parties began attempting to fill the vacuum. Returning soldiers found their homes unrecognizable in the wake of massive social change, many choosing to side with the newly formed Socialists and Nationalists movements. These two factions would find themselves at war with each other as they attempted to spread their influence across Italy. With the Italian economy in shambles and Revolution going strong in Russia the Italian Socialists began to fuel the flames of their own Revolution. Leftists Unions began occupying factories and fighting the Police. To combat this Nationalists began forming vigilante squads to disrupt the Socialists, the two largest being the ANI backed Blueshirts and the National Syndicalists backed Blackshirts. Italy was on the brink of Civil War during this so called “Biennio Rosso”. While revolution seemed inevitable from the outside, within the Socialist camp divisions were growing between hardline Communists and more reform minded socialists. These 2 groups would eventually form two separate political parties which severely weakened the Socialists ability to organize. The PPI lead by the “Clerical Socialist” Luigi Sturzo took advantage of this situation and began working with the moderate socialists to pass much needed reforms for Italy and pressure both the Socialists and Nationalists militias to stand down. This uneasy alliance between the PPI and PSI would dominate Italian politics throughout the 20’s. Like the Socialists, the Nationalists were also facing internal division during the Biennio Rosso. The old guard of the ANI was strongly conservative and traditional which put them at odds with the growing National Syndicalist movement within their party lead by Gabriele D'Annunzio and Alceste De Ambris. These two men would put their revolutionary minded politics into practice when their supporters marched on the disputed territory of Fiume. There D'Annunzio and Ambris co-authored the defining document of National Syndicalism, The Charter of Canaro which created the foundation of a corporatist society which would abandon the class conflict which the Socialists pushed in favor of class cooperation. The Fiume Endeavour would be short lived though. The Italian army would invade the region and dismantle the National Syndicalist movement but despite this set back D'Annunzio and his supporters remain a very vocal part of Italian politics. Italy in 1936 While the 1920s was a decade of solid economic and social growth for Italy the 30’s has been a decade of stagnation. The rise of Valkism in Germany has put immense pressure on the Entente while internally the PPI which brought Italy a peaceful resolution to the Biennio Rosso is no longer seen a the voice of reason within Italian politics with their inconsistent political stances. Luigi Sturzo’s leadership of the party is being challenged by the Alcide De Gasperi who wishes to see the party adopt more conservative positions. To counter this Sturzo must make sure the PPI solidifies it’s position around more progressive politics. Until the PPI sorts itself out many citizens will flock to extremist politics to solve Italy’s growing issues. Category:Countries Category:European countries Category:Continental Entente